From Pope Benedict's speech to the Portuguese Bishops in Rome for their ad limina visit, via Cafe Theology.

The Holy Father pointed out that, despite the fact that it is sometimes necessary to discuss the attribution of responsibility, we must remain focused on the “true mission of the Church” which must “speak principally not of herself but of God.”

“The evangelization of individuals and of communities depends on … the encounter with Jesus Christ,” said Benedict XVI, recalling how “Christian initiation normally takes place via the Church.”

“Faced with the large number of non-practicing Christians in your dioceses,” said the Pope, “it might be worthwhile to verify ‘the effectiveness of current approaches to Christian initiation, so that the faithful can be helped both to mature through the formation received in our communities and to give their lives an authentically Eucharistic direction, so that they can offer a reason for the hope within them in a way suited to our times’.”